More Than a Twin Thing
by Ace of Spades 131
Summary: Anyone who has seen the Hitachiin twins together knows they're closer than most siblings, but just how close are they? The host club finds out the hard way when they see Hikaru's reaction to Kaoru being taken.
1. Chapter 1

Together as they always were, Hikaru and Kaoru strolled contently down the streets of the commoners' shopping district, arms linked in a comforting entanglement of limbs. They were on their way home from Haruhi's apartment where the host club had been playing commoner games and drinking commoner coffee. It came in decaf!

"Too bad we missed the sunset." Kaoru mumbled, staring into the sky. He always found a strange sense of peace settle in his mind as the light faded and the sky became painted in broad strokes of orange and pink.

Hikaru followed his brother's gaze to the star-studded sky and sighed with him. "There aren't any clouds, I'm sure we didn't miss too much. Besides, the stars are beautiful tonight, aren't you glad we get to see them?"

A tiny smirk flickered on Kaoru's lips for a moment, a moment that told Hikaru he was doing his job right. "I guess you're right. Sunsets are always better with clouds."

The two continued in silence, passing by bright shop windows and dark alleyways, all the while staring at the gorgeously lit sky. Just as they were nearing the edge of the shopping district, Hikaru felt his shoulder connect with the bicep of a taller man. His right side was jostled back, and he would have lost his balance if it weren't for Kaoru's steadying arm.

"Watch where you're going." The man growled, not bothering to look over his shoulder at the twins.

"You okay?" Kaoru asked, clutching his twin's shoulder as the two stared down the back of the man's head, hoping if they stared long enough their gaze might burn through his skin.

"I'm fine." Hikaru straightened and corrected their path, knowing they were close to home. "One of his buttons must be broken." He grumbled, inspecting the small scratch on his wrist he had acquired. "Some people can be so rude."

"Tell me about it." Kaoru agreed as he ran a thumb over his brother's mild injury. "Kyoya told me about a commoner who once took something out of his shopping bags while he was here. He had to chase him all the way…"

Hikaru tried to focus on Kaoru's story, but found himself unable to concentrate. He felt as if Kaoru was talking to him through a ten-foot-thick wall of cotton. The world seemed to be tilting ever so slightly to the right.

"Hikaru?" Kaoru looked to his twin as he noticed he hadn't spoken in a while. "Hikaru." The older twin looked as if he was completely spaced out. "Hikaru!" Kaoru snapped his fingers in front of his brother's face, earning a head shake and a blink.

"Sorry, just… dizzy." Hikaru slurred as he began to lean heavily on Kaoru.

"Hikaru!" Kaoru cried as his brother collapsed into his arms. Kaoru hugged his brother to his chest, letting him slide gently to the ground before frantically searching around for help. Nobody was on the street, save one figure, who was walking towards the pair. "Help!" Kaoru called out, waving his arms to get the man's attention. He would have dashed into a shop, but that would mean leaving Hikaru alone, barely conscious on the street. "Help!"

As the figure neared, Kaoru could make out that it was a man, his hood pulled up, casting a dark shadow over his face. Normally, Kaoru would have steered clear of such a shady character, but Hikaru needed help, so he cast his better judgement aside.

"Please, my brother, he-" Kaoru started when the man was a few strides away, however, he didn't get to finish his sentence as the man roughly grabbed his arm and scooped Kaoru off of the ground. "Hey! What are you doing? LET GO!" Kaoru shouted, hoping to get somebody's-anybody's-attention as he felt the panic crash into his stomach and rush up his throat. "Hikaru!"

"Shut up." The man kept his head bowed as he pulled a gun from his waistband and aimed it at Hikaru, who was mumbling to himself, reaching out for Kaoru. "Or I will kill him here and now."

"Don't hurt him, please." Kaoru begged, ceasing his attempt to pry the man's hand away from his bicep. It wasn't as if he could have anyway, the man's fingers seemed to be made of steel.

"Then cooperate." He growled. Kaoru recognized the growl, it was the same one he'd heard just minutes before, after Hikaru had collided with a man. This man.

Kaoru obediently allowed himself to be lead away from his brother, trying not to show any of the fear he was feeling.

Hikaru watched, helplessly as his brother was lead to a dull, black car by the man. He tried to reach out to his twin, but it seemed that his bloods had turned to lead in a matter of minutes. His eyes could barely widen as he saw Kaoru being forced into the trunk of the vehicle. The man picked up a length of rope, proceeded to bind Kaoru's wrists, before slamming the trunk and climbing into the driver's seat.

"Kaoru." He managed to whimper as a lone tear ran down his cheek.

 _"_ _Hikaru."_ He could almost heart Kaoru's voice as his world swirled into darkness.


	2. Chapter 2

"Hika-chan?" Honey cocked his head to the side, his already gigantic eyes widening even more at the sight of his friend laying on the ground at the edge of a dark alley. He and Kaoru had left earlier than the rest, saying something about not wanting to miss the sunset. Honey ran forward, practically skidding to a stop in front of Hikaru, Mori not far behind. "Hika-chan, wake up!" Honey shook the elder Hitachiin's shoulder as Mori searched around for Kaoru. "Takashi, what happened? What do we do? Where's Kao-chan?"

"I don't know, Mitsukuni." Mori stooped and lifted Hikaru off the ground, one arm under his knees, the other supporting his back. He managed to keep his stoic expression in-tact, but Honey could tell his cousin was just as freaked out as he was. The twins were never apart, and Hikaru would never just choose to lay down and fall asleep on the ground. If-in some strange universe-he _had_ made that outlandish decision, Kaoru would be right by his brother's side, watching over, or sleeping next to him. Something had to have happened.

"Takashi, where are we going?" Honey struggled to keep up with Mori's long strides, jogging next to his cousin while he clutched Usa-chan to his chest and forced the tears of fear not to fall. Mori remained silent, simply staring ahead into the night as he mindlessly reached his destination.

"What happened?" Kyoya asked, an edge of concern in his normally calmly cheerful voice.

"We were waking home and saw Hika-chan on the ground, Kao-chan was nowhere nearby." Honey explained as Mori gently set the unconscious Hitachiin down on the couch.

"You're sure?" Kyoya asked, striding quickly over to Hikaru. He seemed to be unharmed apart from a swollen scratch on his wrist.

"You know they're never apart." Honey quit holding his tears back and let them silently drip down his cheeks. He was strong, but his host club shtick wasn't a complete façade. When his friends were involved, his emotions ran high. "If he was on that street he would have been right there with him."

"I suppose you're right." Kyoya agreed. "Once Hikaru wakes up we'll see what he has to say, in the meantime, I'll alert my family's police force about possible mischief."

After alerting the police force, Kyoya took it upon himself to call Haruhi and Tamaki and make them aware of the situation. They were at the Ootari residence within twenty minutes of the call, Tamaki having picked up Haruhi on his way over. The host club awaited Hikaru's regain of consciousness, pacing, tapping their feet, fidgeting, biting their nails, anything that would keep them calmer than simply sitting still. After a couple of hours, Hikaru began to stir. The five aware members crowded loosely around the waking boy, not wanting to startle him when he came to, but wanting answers.

"Kaoru." Hikaru shot up like a bullet after a few moments of writhing on the couch. His eyes were wide, his breath sharp and shallow. "Kaoru!" he jumped to his feet, clearly not realising where he was, and made a dash for the door, only to be intercepted by the hulking mass of Mori stepping in his way.

"Hikaru." Tamaki grabbed the frantic boy's wrist and turned him around. "Hikaru, calm down." Eccentric as he was, Tamaki was surprisingly calm and compassionate in times of distress. "Breathe. Tell us what happened."

"How did I get here?" Hikaru asked as he attempted to steady is breath.

"Takashi and I found you on the sidewalk, we brought you here." Honey stepped forward, wanting so badly to lunge at Hikaru with a giant hug, but restraining himself. "What happened, Hika-chan?"

"Some… someone took Kaoru." Hikaru's eyes darted back and forth wildly as his brain worked a mile a minute, trying to recall every detail of the scene. His cloudy memory betrayed his will to know. "They had a gun, they took him. I couldn't help, I couldn't save him, I couldn't-"

"Woah, woah." Haruhi stepped in, meeting Hikaru's amber eyes with her chocolate ones. "Slow down. Start from the beginning."

Hikaru took a breath and released it slowly before closing his eyes as trying to piece together the shattered fragments of the night. "We were walking home, looking that the stars. I… I started to get dizzy. I think I blacked out for a minute, because I remember being on the ground, but not how I got there. Kaoru was pleading with the man. He had a gun. Kaoru went with him. I couldn't move. I couldn't save him." Tears slipped down Hikaru's face and he bowed his head, using his bangs to cover his eyes. "I couldn't save him."

The room was silent apart from the sound of Kyoya typing away on his cell phone, undoubtedly sending an alert to his police force.

"Hikaru." Tamaki tried to get him to meet his eyes, wanting desperately to help his friend through what was undoubtedly the most difficult thing he would ever go through. His name fell flat, however. Hikaru and Kaoru had never been good at letting others in, especially when one wasn't in the immediate vicinity of the other. Haruhi had seen that when she and Hikaru had spent the day together, he was closed off, even after the ice cream. They could fake being happy, but they were never truly joyful unless they were together.

Suddenly, Hikaru gasped and collapsed to his knees, clutching at his chest, begging silently for air to return to his lungs.

"Hikaru!" Everyone cried. Tamaki and Haruhi knelt to see if Hikaru was alright while Honey clung to Mori's leg and Kyoya called for a nurse.

"What happened?" Haruhi grabbed Hikaru's hand, ignoring the momentary flicker of jealousy that crossed Tamaki's face. He really couldn't push that aside right now? Geez.

Hikaru coughed to get his lungs started up again and reminded himself how to breathe for a few seconds before replying. "Something bad." He whispered.

"What do you mean?" Tamaki's brows knit together as he voiced the group's shared confusion.

"Something's happening to Kaoru..."


	3. Chapter 3

Kaoru was numb. He was terrified. Why had this man taken him? What was going to happen to him? Questions like those danced around the edge of his mind, but his main concern always returned to Hikaru. His brother had been left, lying on the cold concrete, at night in the commoner's shopping district. What if he'd been trampled by unseeing feet? Or hit by a drunk driver? Or… what if he'd been taken as well?

Kaoru was lost in his thoughts for the entire car ride, and didn't notice when the vehicle halted and the engine shut off. It wasn't until the trunk popped open and he was dragged out of it that Kaoru's fear completely set in.

He stumbled over himself as he was dragged forcefully to the back door of a massive mansion, even bigger than his own estate. The man knocked twice, waited a few seconds, then knocked three more times before stepping back and waiting for there to be an answer. Moments later, a hulking man opened the door and slammed it shut as soon as Kaoru and his captor were inside. The man with the iron grasp all but dragged Kaoru through a long, dark hallway, and down a set of grimy stairs.

 _"_ _What is this place?"_ Kaoru wondered to himself, trying to keep his mind off of the fact that he'd been kidnapped.

They emerged from the dimly lit staircase into a musty, concrete hallway. Kaoru took note of every turn they made from the staircase to the heavy looking door they ended up in front of. There was another hulking man standing before this door, wearing the same black t-shirt and slacks the guard at the back door had been wearing.

"Newcomer?" The guard grunted.

"Caught him a couple of hours ago." Iron fist nodded as the guard typed in a code on a keypad next to the door. Once the code was fully entered, a panel in the wall slid aside to reveal a slot in which the guard inserted a key card that hung from a lanyard around his neck. "He's a Hitachiin."

Kaoru forced himself not to gape at the man's words. How did he know who Kaoru was? Was this planned? Were he and Hikaru being stalked before this? _"Snap out of it."_ He shouted in his head. _"Don't let them see your fear."_

"He'll go for more than usual." The guard observed.

Once the card had been read, the door swung heavily open and Kaoru was shoved through the hole in the wall, landing unceremoniously on a thin, lumpy, stained mattress. Iron fist quickly straddled the boy before he could move, causing Kaoru's breath to catch for a moment before he realised that the man was simply cutting his restraints away. Kaoru relished the feeling of his wrists being free from the chafing rope, but his relief was short-lived as he felt thick metal cuffs being closed around his raw wrists. Once the cuffs were in place, the man rose and Kaoru pushed himself into a sitting position, staring the man down with a glare as menacing as he could muster, which wasn't really very menacing at all.

"I'll be back soon with the boss." The man smirked at the kid's attempt to be brave. It was obvious he was terrified. "Don't go anywhere." He mocked over his shoulder as he disappeared around the corner and the door slammed shut with a heavy thud.

Kaoru let out a shaking breath once he was alone. Trying to keep calm, he surveyed the room, deciding he'd better know every inch of it if he was going to escape. He was sitting on a lumpy, thin, very stained mattress. He didn't really want to think about what made up those stains. His gaze moved to the cuffs on his wrists, which were attached to chains that kept him from moving more than about six feet from the wall they were anchored to. That probably wouldn't be an issue considering the rook itself was only about six feet by six feet. Everything was concrete; the walls, the floor, the ceiling. The only differentiation in material came from the door and the mattress, which Kaoru spotted a thin, holey blanket at the end of. Across the room there was nothing but two empty corners. Looking to the creases where the wall met the ceiling, Kaoru didn't see any sign of weakness in the foundation, and there definitely weren't any windows. There was a small security camera perched in the top left corner of the room, so it would never be blocked by the door opening. Kaoru could see all of this due to the dim, grimy lightbulb that hung by a couple of frayed wires from the middle of the ceiling. It gave off enough light to get by, but definitely needed to be either cleaned or changed.

More time than he thought must have passes as he collected information of his surroundings, because Kaoru suddenly heard a faint beep and the door swung open to reveal iron fist and a strange man Kaoru didn't recognize.

"Hello, Kaoru Hitachiin." The new man smiled a smile that could only be described as evil.

"How do you know me?" Kaoru demanded, feeling pride in his steady voice. "What is this place?"

The man chuckled, kneeling down to be at eye level with the boy. "I suppose there's no reason to lie to you, this is my business." The man gestured around, looking proud of the dank cell. "See, I'm the CEO of a company. I have a very specific process. First, I decide how much money I want to make, and how much time I feel like waiting for. Then, my analysts pull together a list of names, which is passed on to my runners, like Kaito here, who you've met. They watch for a while, see if the project is possible, then act, like Kaito did today. Then, our guests are brought here where the rest of the transaction will be carried out. I also take requests from my clientele. Do you have any questions?"

"Yeah." Kaoru could feel the panic rising in his throat again, but managed to keep it down below his Adam's apple so he could know the answer to his question. "What did you do to my brother?"

"Oh, how sweet!" The boss nearly squealed. "You're the one who's in danger and you're worried about your brother." Kaoru's breath caught, but he managed to keep his composure. "When we have difficult cases such as yours, our runners need to make sure their projects go off without a hitch. Since you were always with Hikaru, Kaito simply ran into him before he was ready to take you. He was carrying a thumbtack covered in a small dose of very pungent sedative, which caused your brother to lose consciousness within a few minutes. You don't need to worry about him, you should be worried about you."

"Why's that?" Kaoru cursed himself at the slight quiver in his voice.

"I'm all about transparency here, do you know why that is?"

"Hadn't given it much thought."

"Because you're never getting out of here." The boss shrugged. "You are going to die here, Kaoru Hitachiin."

"Fuck you!" he suddenly shouted, his tongue not waiting for his brain to process the thought before it became words.

"Well now, that simply won't do." The boss chuckled and rose to his feet. "Kaito." He said over his shoulder as he left the room.

Just as the boss disappeared from sight, Kaoru felt something solid ram into his chest and force him back against the concrete wall, effectively knocking the breath out of his lungs. He looked down as he struggled to remember how to breathe, seeing that Kaito had kicked him square in the chest, and was now holding him against the wall with even, heavy pressure. Kaoru struggled, trying to pry the foot away from his chest as his lungs screamed for air, but Kaito also seemed to have an iron foot. Just as the edges of Kaoru's vison began to darken, Kaito released Kaoru, who immediately fell forward, bracing himself against the cold concrete floor as he coughed and choked, letting the oxygen flow through him any way it wanted to.

"Never backtalk the boss." Kaito grumbled as the door thumped shut.


	4. Chapter 4

"Something's happening to Kaoru…" Hikaru whispered, the words barely audible to the rest of the people in the room.

"How can you tell?" Kyoya asked, quietly, not really knowing what to make of Hikaru's declaration.

"I just can!" Hikaru snapped, fear tightening like an icy fist around his heart.

"Hika-chan," Honey practically whimpered, "we're here for you." Mori nodded in agreement, placing a comforting hand on his trembling cousin's shoulder.

Hikaru took some deep breaths, attempting to settle the panic rising in his throat. "Fine." He sighed, deciding where to start. "Ever since we were really little, Kaoru and I have had this… connection."

"A twin thing?" Tamaki pushed after a short silence, voicing everyone else's thought.

"No, no. Something… different." Hikaru continued. "When we're apart and something happens to one of us… the other can feel it. Not in full, but we can feel it."

"How is that possible?" Kyoya readjusted his glasses, hiding his confusion behind the glare on his lenses.

"I don't know, it just happens." Hikaru snapped again. He and Kaoru had never really told anyone about their bond, people just assumed they were closer than usual siblings, but really, it was much more than that. "This one time, when we were six, we were playing in the forest near our house. I thought it would be funny to hide from Kaoru, so I ran ahead of him and climbed a tree. When he ran past me, I started to feel weird, and anxious. I ignored the feeling, because I found the prank funnier than it was concerning. Once Kaoru was out of my sight, I climbed down to chase after him. Almost as soon as I started running, my ankle started to hurt, and I found myself getting really scared for no reason. It really hurt, and I couldn't move my foot properly. Then, I got this weird feeling that I was completely alone. Somehow, I knew something was really wrong with Kaoru, and when I found him, he was on the ground, calling for me. He'd tripped on a tree root and broken his ankle, left to wonder where I'd gone."

"Hikaru…" Haruhi mumbled.

"It happened again a few years later when I slipped stepping out of the shower and gave myself a concussion." Hikaru continued, finding that everything was spilling out and he couldn't stop. "Kaoru said he got a headache all of a sudden and started to feel really dizzy and confused. It happens mostly when one of us has a nightmare. We always wake up together, one of us feeling the other's fear. I don't know why it happens, we've never told anyone so we've never had a chance of finding an answer. I just know that Kaoru is in trouble."

"Hikaru…" Haruhi said again, pulling him into a one-sided hug. He just rested limply on her shoulder, his arms dangling at his sides, silent tears soaking into his friend's shirt.

They stayed like that for a while, Haruhi holding Hikaru close, Tamaki resting a hand on his shoulder, the others simply standing by and observing, unsure of what to do.

Hikaru allowed Haruhi to embrace him until he'd cried himself out and the panic had settled somewhere in his stomach rather than clawing at his throat. He assumed Kaoru had managed to fall into a fitful sleep. He untangled himself from Haruhi and rubbed at his swollen eyes. "I should go."

"You don't have to-" Tamaki started before Hikaru interrupted.

"Yes, I do." Hikaru got to his feet and shook his head. "I just do."

"I'll have a car take all of you home." Kyoya typed the order into his cell phone. "I will keep everyone updated on the status of the force's search."

"Thank you, Kyoya." Tamaki nodded to his friend. "And Hikaru, if you need anything, we're all here for you."

Hikaru nodded, showing he'd heard Tamaki's words, but not finding the energy to reply.

The rides home were spent in silence, which was unusual considering Honey and Tamaki were in the same car. The tension was high, with stress rolling off of Hikaru in waves.

Honey and Mori were dropped off first, and Hikaru was tackled by the small blonde with a tight hug. "I love you, Hika-chan, we'll find Kao-chan soon." Mori simply nodded at Hikaru and guided Honey out of the car and into their estate.

Haruhi came next, she squeezed Hikaru's hand firmly and tried to give him a reassuring smile that probably turned into more of a grimace.

When Tamaki got out of the car, he pulled Hikaru into a reluctant hug. "I mean it, you know." He whispered as Hikaru finally hugged him back. "Call me. Anytime. Even if it's three a.m. I'll answer and do what I can. All of us will."

"Thank you." Hikaru whispered back, feeling another wave of tears burning behind his eyes but forcing them not to fall. Once Hikaru was home, however, he didn't hold back. As soon as he had shut the door to his shared bedroom, he collapsed to his knees, allowing the deafening sobs to rack through his body, causing his whole torso to shake as he cried, letting everything else, feeling Kaoru's pain as well as his own. He wasn't aware of how long he cried, and had no idea when he got up off the floor, but he found himself groaning the next morning as his alarm screamed shrilly in his ear, announcing to the world that he was expected to get out of bed.

Hikaru rolled over and groggily smacked the alarm clock to make it shut up before rolling onto his back and staring at the ceiling. Something wasn't right. He was staring at the wrong corner of the ceiling. Kaoru was always the one to crawl into Hikaru's bed at night, so why was Hikaru in Kaoru's bed now? Something else was amiss, the bed was too neat, and the sheets were cooler than usual. Hikaru rolled over, expecting to see a familiar head of orange hair mere inches from his face, but saw nothing but an empty room.

Then, it all came back. The memory from the night before, the feeling he shared with his brother, and the fear of the future. Hikaru curled into a ball, not bothering to hold back his tears as he felt the anxiety Kaoru must have been experiencing. There was no way he would be able to drag himself out of bed.

Hikaru closed his eyes and rolled over to bury his face in his brother's pillow, deeply inhaling the lingering scent of strawberries from their shared shampoo and a hint of Kaoru's favourite cologne. Suddenly, the loose ball of stress that had been turning over in Hikaru's stomach turned into something near panic, and he began to cry harder, not daring to let his mind wander to where it wanted to.

"Oh Kaoru…"


	5. Chapter 5

"Rise and shine, sleepyhead!" Kaoru heard an unfamiliar voice calling him away from the dark void of dreamless sleep he'd been relishing. He groggily opened his eyes to a dimly lit, dank concrete room. At first, he was confused. But as soon as his eyes landed on the devilish grin he remembered where he was. Kaoru pushed himself into a sitting position, ignoring the ache in his chest as he tried to keep his breathing slow and steady, not wanting to show the boss any fear he was experiencing.

"Good to see you up." The boss sneered. "Now, our conversation was cut short by your rudeness yesterday, so I wanted to return in case you had any further questions for me."

 _"_ _What is with this guy? How can he fault me for being rude when he kidnapped me off the street and chained me to a wall?"_ Kaoru thought to himself. "Yes actually, I do." Was what he actually said. He was very proud of himself for keeping his composure when all he wanted to do was breakdown, screaming and crying until someone came to his rescue. "What's your name, and what exactly is this "company"?"

"I am Shuko." He chuckled. "And I am surprised it took you so long to ask that question. To answer your second question, my company is very simple, we make money from the misfortune that we create for others."

"Can you elaborate on that?" Kaoru asked after a few moments of silence.

"I suppose." Shuko shrugged. "It began about three years ago. My job then didn't pay very well, and I was living in the commoners' world. So, I decided I would do something about that. I worked with a buddy of mine, we took a kid from a well-off family while he was walking home from school, demanded a five million yen ransom from his parents, split it fifty fifty then killed him off because we knew he would talk. From there, we got more people in on it, more space, higher security, and went after higher value people. We also discovered that there are some very rich people out there who are willing to pay very impressive fees for some alone time with the kid of some rich asshole who screwed them in a business deal. That said, I will be making a lot of money off of you. Your parents are not the most beloved in the business world."

Kaoru felt his spine freeze at Shuko's last comment, fighting hard to keep his breathing at a normal rate.

"Today will be a big day for you, Kaoru Hitachiin." Shuko smirked as he rose to his full height. "You will be taking your first customer."

.o0o.o0o.o0o.o0o.o0o.

Kaoru rocked himself back and forth, knees hugged to his chest, arms wrapped around his shins, forehead pressed into his knees. He hadn't moved from his position since Shuko had left that morning, and didn't intend to move anytime soon. There was no way to tell how much time had passed in the cell, for the grimy lightbulb illuminated the room around the clock. Kaoru didn't raise his head when he heard the faint beeping outside his door, or when the door creaked open accompanied by the horrible sound of metal grinding on metal.

"Eat up." A new voice whispered as a clatter made Kaoru jump slightly. "I'll be back in fifteen minutes, and whatever you don't finish, I take back."

Kaoru didn't lift his head until the door thumped shut and the beep that signalled the door was locked had sounded. He tentatively peeked up from his knees, feeling an ache in his neck from sitting in the same position for so long. At the end of his mattress there was a small bowl of white rice, half of an apple, and a bottle of water sitting on a cafeteria tray. Kaoru didn't think he would feel much like eating, but his stomach loudly voiced its objection to leaving the food untouched. Kaoru slowly unravelled his limbs and crawled over to the tray, first picking up the already browning apple half. He took a small bite first, hoping his knotted stomach wouldn't reject the presence of food, then ravenously devoured the rest of the sweet fruit. He then went to work on the rice, which they apparently expected Kaoru to eat with his hands considering the lack of utensils on the tray. By the time he reached the bottom of the paper bowl, Kaoru was beginning to realise how unsatisfying the meal was. He tried not to dwell on his practically empty stomach as he broke the seal on the water bottle and chugged the whole thing in a matter of seconds. He figured that thirst would be more of an issue than hunger, seeing as a dry mouth was often more uncomfortable than an empty stomach.

Just as Kaoru was replacing the cap of his water bottle, the door opened to reveal the man he assumed dropped off the food.

"You finished? That's a first." The man looked mildly amused. "Newcomers usually don't realise they only get fed once a day."

Kaoru internally groaned at the thought of surviving on a tiny portion of rice and half an apple for longer than a few days.

"How often do we get water?" He asked, biting his tongue quickly after. He didn't know how this man would react to questioning. He also cursed himself for already thinking as if he was a part of this place.

"Once at mealtime and once in the evening." The man replied, seemingly alright with Kaoru's curiosity.

Just as the man was leaving, Kaoru had an idea. "Thank you." He called quietly, causing the man to stop dead in his tracks. He didn't look back, but merely grunted before continuing on his way.

Kaoru sighed and returned to his curled-up form. _"I may as well try to make an ally…"_ He thought to himself. _"Might come in handy eventually."_

What could have been a few minutes or a few hours later, Kaoru heard the already familiar beeping outside of his door. Two men walked into the room, one lingering by the door while the other headed straight for Kaoru. He did his best not to cower, but ended up caving in on himself even more than he already was. The man stooped down before him and roughly grabbed Kaoru's right arm. At first, the boy struggled, but then realised it was no use. The man simply unlocked his cuff, then moved to the left arm.

Once the cuffs were off, the man seized Kaoru's left bicep and roughly yanked him to his feet. Kaoru stumbled over himself at first, not expecting to have stood up so fast, but quickly regained his footing as the other man took hold of his other arm. The walked at a brisk pace, wordlessly, staring straight ahead as Kaoru's fear intensified. He wanted to ask where they were taking him, but figured he would probably get his answer soon.

As he was dragged down the hallways-following a different path than the day prior-Kaoru noticed something his panic-stricken minds hadn't realised when he'd first arrived at the horrible complex. Every door had a guard in front of it. There would definitely be no escape for Kaoru, at least, not if he tried to escape on his own.

A few terribly confusing minutes later, Kaoru's escorts halted before a door that had the word 'shower' painted above it. Kaoru glanced around as one of the men entered a passcode and realised that each door had a number stenciled above it in red paint.

Once the door opened, Kaoru was shoved into the room, which was really just another hallway. Not expecting to be physically pushed through the threshold, Kaoru promptly fell to the ground.

"Well hello there." A man emerged from around the corner, laughing at Kaoru's lack of coordination. "Come on, get up." He snapped. Kaoru followed the man's orders, trying not let his knees shake too violently. "Follow me, and don't think of trying anything. The last person who did that left that stain." He gestured to a deep red stain in the corner of the hallway. _"That would have taken a lot of blood."_ Kaoru thought and gulped as he shuffled after the man.

"I lock you in a shower room for five minutes, you clean yourself. Sound simple enough?" The man asked as he and Kaoru emerged into a better lit concrete room lined with the same doors as every other room in this maze.

"Yes." Kaoru nodded, stopping with the man in front of the first door on the left.

"Good, now disrobe."

"What?" Kaoru took a step back as if the words had physically pushed him. "Here?"

"Yes, and now." The man rolled his eyes, tiredly. "Unless you'd like to leave another stain on this floor."

Kaoru took a shuddering breath and raised his shaking hands to the hem of his shirt, swiftly pulling it over his head before his brain could catch up to the fact that he was stripping in front of a strange man. He then slipped off his shoes and socks, followed by his jeans, and was left standing in his boxers, the cool air causing goosebumps to rise on his arms and legs.

"Hurry it up." The man snapped. "I don't have all day."

Kaoru took a deep breath and cast his eyes downward before completely disrobing, refusing to meet the man's eyes. His hands instinctively moved to cover himself, and he could feel his ears turning red.

"Good, now get in there." Kaoru hadn't even noticed that the man had opened the door for him, and he stepped inside, thankful for the privacy of his own shower. "Normally twenty of you will shower at once, since it's your first day, you get special treatment." With his last words, the door shut, just as heavily as the rest of the doors in the building, and Kaoru was left in darkness. Moments later, water began pouring down on his head.

"Argh!" Kaoru gasped when the icy liquid made contact with his skin. He tried to push himself into a corner to get out of the water's path, but the entire ceiling of the tiny room seemed to be a shower head. Kaoru dropped to his knees, shivering fiercely, and wrapped his arms around his torso, resting his head on the cold, concrete floor. As he trembled, he thought of the only thing that was keeping him sane through his captivity: Hikaru.

Hikaru would be looking for him. He'd probably told Kyoya what had happened, which would mean the Ootari police force was out looking for him.

For the first time since he had been brought to his new prison, Kaoru allowed himself to cry.


	6. Chapter 6

Hikaru spent his day staring at the wall. He couldn't bring himself to move. It didn't seem that Kaoru was in too much distress, apart from an hour or two of near-panic. He was holding up well, at least as far as Hikaru could tell.

In the early evening, Hikaru began to feel a slight chill run through his body. Not thinking much of it, he wrapped the blankets around himself more tightly, but the chill persisted. It wasn't until Hikaru was shivering fiercely that he realised the cold spell was coming from Kaoru.

"Kaoru…" Hikaru moaned, feeling a fresh wave of pain and guilt wash over him as he shook, buried beneath layer upon layer of blankets. "What's happening to you?"

After twenty minutes or so, the shivering died down, and Hikaru managed to uncurl himself from the fetal position. He sat up and stretched, feeling his stiff joints crack and pop after being stationary for so long. He reached for his phone and pressed speed dial two, listening to the ringtone for a few seconds before a familiar voice picked up.

"Hikaru, how are you doing?" Kyoya answered. Distant voices floated in from the background, letting Hikaru know that the host club was in full swing. He found himself hating the fact that people were carrying on their normal lives when Kaoru was hurting so badly.

"Any news yet?" Hikaru's broken voice came through the line as Kyoya moved to the edge of music room three, getting away from the crowd. He figured Hikaru wouldn't answer the question, it was quite a stupid inquiry during such a time.

"Not yet." Kyoya hung his head, he could almost feel Hikaru's misery through the phone. "But we're doing everything we can."

"Well it's not enough." Hikaru snapped. "My brother is still gone."

"Hikaru, it hasn't even been twenty-four hours yet." Kyoya explained gently, keeping his cool. "I can't begin to imagine how you feel, but it is still very early in the investigation."

"Is that Hikaru?" Kyoya spun around that the sound of Tamaki's voice and nodded while he received the seething silence on the other end of the line. Tamaki motioned for Kyoya to give him the phone.

"Hikaru, once club is finished we're coming over." Tamaki declared.

"I don't want-"

"I don't care." The boss cut in before Hikaru could say what he didn't want. "You're our friend and we're going to support you. That's final."

There was a moment of silence before Hikaru responded again. "Okay." Was all he said before hanging up.

Hikaru flopped back down on the bed, longing to be able to roll over and rest his head on his brother's shoulder. Whenever they were upset, the twins only had to be there to make each other feel better again. There was something about having someone who always knew exactly what you'd been through, were going through, and would be through that brought light to every situation and made everything okay. Hikaru and Kaoru were really one being, separated only by the most minor of technicalities. They both knew they would have to grow up and separate at some point, but this wasn't how it should be done. They shouldn't have been pulled apart by force and kept away, only connected by mutual pain and suffering. It wasn't fair.

When Hikaru heard a knock at his bedroom door, he grunted and sat up, hoping the guttural noise carried across the room. It did, and the door opened, allowing for the members of the host club to spill through it. Honey immediately leaped onto the bed, latching onto Hikaru's neck with his thin arms. When Hikaru failed to hug Honey back, Mori stepped in and pried his cousin off of the grieving twin.

"How are you feeling?" Haruhi asked, immediately regretting the question when all she got in response was a cold glare. "I figured, I just didn't…"

"My family's police force is stationed at every road in and out of the city." Kyoya stepped in front of Haruhi before she could make more of a fool of herself. "They've been instructed to search every car. Patrols around the city have also increased tenfold. We will find him."

"When." Hikaru stated rather than asked. Nobody had ever seen either twin so emotionless. Even when they were bored or ignoring someone, they always had their edge of mischief. The edge that was completely gone from Hikaru. "Today, tomorrow, next week, next year? When?"

"I can't tell you that." Kyoya sighed.

"What _I_ can tell you is that we'll be here for you for as long as it takes." Tamaki attempted to reassure his friend, knowing he would fail. "Whatever you need from us, you just have to ask and it will be done."

"Tama-chan's right." Honey nodded. "We're your friends and we'll do whatever we can to help you."

Everyone nodded along and mumbled their agreement, doing little to calm Hikaru's worry. He didn't need support of these people, he needed his brother. The only person he could never live without was Kaoru; anyone else he would get over eventually.

Suddenly, Hikaru felt the constant uneasiness he'd become accustomed to change into all out panic. Pure and utter fear that made his breath stop and his body shake.

"Hikaru!" Haruhi and Tamaki exclaimed as he dropped off the edge of the bed onto his knees. He clutched at his heart while using the other hand to keep his body upright.

"We've never been this scared before." He managed around hyperventilated breaths. He didn't want to think about what could be happening to his twin. Hikaru didn't want anything that could have him so terrified in his mind. He knew that if he imagined a scenario, it would only add to the panic.

As quickly as the panic came, it disappeared, leaving Hikaru with a deep, horrifying feeling of emptiness. His eyes widened and then he squeezed them shut, hoping for something, anything to tell him what he thought he was feeling was wrong.

"Hika-chan?" Honey asked, joining Tamaki and Haruhi on the floor. "What's wrong?"

"He can't be…" Hikaru mumbled to himself, thinking he might be able to convince himself of the unlikely fact if he said it out loud. "No, it would hurt more. It would have to hurt more." He was too numb to even cry as he silently begged his twin to give him a sign.

"Hikaru, you're not suggesting…" Kyoya couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence. If he couldn't say it, he had no idea how Hikaru could be living through it.

Hikaru dropped his head, wanting so badly to feel something, anything. It was like his emotions had been turned off. "It feels like he died."


	7. Chapter 7

Kaoru was practically dragged back to his cell, unable to move, unable to think, unable to feel. His mind was blank and his body limp as he was thrown on the mattress. He didn't fight as his hands were shackled to the wall. He simply curled in on himself, wishing to implode as his brain decided to replay the events that had unfolded minutes before.

 _"_ _Are you ready, Kaoru?" Shuko had asked with a grin full of malice._

 _"_ _What for?" Kaoru couldn't hide the slight tremor in his voice, especially after that freezing excuse for a shower._

 _"_ _For your first customer, of course." Two guards came into the room then, each removing one of Kaoru's arms from his restraints then hauling him off the ground, one on each side. He felt a hot wash of shame run through him as he was completely exposed, not having been given any clothes after his shower. "You went for quite a high price, you know, lots of people must have it in for your parents. Tell me, who have they pissed off lately?"_

 _"_ _Don't talk about my family like that!" Kaoru snapped, wanting to lunge for Shuko but knowing he wouldn't get anywhere with the massive men holding him between them._

 _"_ _Boss?" One of them asked, his voice barely more than a growl._

 _"_ _No, no, let it go." Shuko chuckled. "He's simply biased. I'll have you know, Kaoru that your mother has bought out numerous companies, only to fire all of the employees and force them to labour in her sweatshops. And your father is no better. His computer company has been dominating the market for years, forcing smaller companies to use his software for inexcusable prices because he can simply run them out of business at the drop of a hat."_

 _"_ _That's not true!" Kaoru said more to himself than Shuko. There was no way his parents could have done such horrible things. Then again, his parents had never been very open about their business… no! No, they just didn't like talking about work because they were home so rarely and wanted to talk about less serious subjects._

"Do they even know I'm gone…?" _Kaoru suddenly found himself thinking. Hikaru had to have called them, but they hardly ever had time to answer their phones._

 _"_ _Oh, but it is true." Shuko sighed. "Your parents are incredible business owners, but horrible people driven not by the love for their family, but by their love of money."_

 _Kaoru hung his head, curing himself for giving into Shuko's game so quickly. He would_ not _turn on his family._

 _"_ _Well, here we are." Shuko plastered a smile on his face as they rounded a corner into a well-lit hallway. Kaoru squinted against the suddenly bright light and yellow-painted walls. "Ikko! How lovely to see you!" Shuko shook the man's hand enthusiastically._

 _"_ _This is the Hitachiin?" Ikko asked, running his tongue over his teeth as he inspected Kaoru._

 _"_ _Just as you requested." Shuko nodded. "You see, Kaoru, Ikko used to be the CEO of a software company that rivalled your father's, until your father bought them out and put Ikko on the marketing team. He is still payed handsomely by many people's standards, but his annual income was cut by seventy five percent. He's now only making a fourth of what he was before, and that's all because of your father." Shuko sneered in Kaoru's face. "He, along with many others, specially requested to have you brought here. What did we decide on, Ikko?"_

 _"_ _One million yen per hour." He man grumbled, making Kaoru's stomach drop. He'd figured out what was happening by now, and was in a state of full-fledged panic. His heart felt as if it would beat out of his chest, his lungs were on fire, his legs were shaking. He felt like he'd run a marathon in ten minutes._

"Is this a panic attack?" _He wondered to himself. He'd never had one before; every time Kaoru had gotten stressed, Hikaru had been there to calm him down nearly instantaneously._

 _"_ _Well, Ikko, I'll leave you to it." Shuko smirked. "As you know, the timer begins when the door closes and stops when you leave. You'll pay me in full on your way out."_

 _"_ _Of course." Ikko hadn't taken his eyes off of Kaoru since they'd first come around the corner. He stared hungrily at the thin, shaking boy. "Now hand him over."_

 _"_ _As you wish." Shuko nodded to the guard who were holding Kaoru and they released him, shoving him into Ikko's strong grasp. Ikko then dragged Kaoru through the open door and threw him down on a bed that was much more comfortable than the one in his cell, nearly as comfortable as his own. The plush did nothing to calm Kaoru's anxiety._

 _Then, Ikko climbed on top of him._

Kaoru slammed his mental walls up, refusing to remember what Ikko had done to him. Refusing to remember that he he'd been frozen in with fear and hadn't fought back. Refusing to let himself feel anything, not letting the shame and loathing scratch at his numbness. The only thing he could still feel was the mild sting of the wounds in his back. There were marks from Ikko's belt, which Kaoru could live with; but the other wounds, the ones that would scar… Partway through Ikko's time, he had pulled out a small switchblade and began carving into Kaoru's back. At first, he hadn't known what Ikko was doing, but it didn't take long for him to realise what was happening.

The word 'slut' had been sliced into his upper back, running from one shoulder blade to the other. Right below that, 'whore' was carved more deeply. Ikko had said it was so Kaoru would never forget him. Considering what else had happened in the room, Kaoru wouldn't need scars to remember.


	8. Chapter 8

A week later, Hikaru finally returned to school. The morning of, he stood before the mirror in his bathroom, bracing himself against the sink. His hair could pass for a rat's nest, parted messily to the left but still falling in his eyes. His tie was crooked. The bags under his eyes were darker than his pupils. He couldn't even remember if he'd brushed his teeth, but couldn't bring himself to do it. Or… do it again… He wasn't sure if he'd be able to make it through the day, but he was going to try. For Kaoru.

He still felt completely empty. The only solace he had were the daily cold spells and occasional mild pain in his back or stomach that let him know his brother was alive. It felt so wrong to be comforted by such horrible feelings, but Hikaru didn't have anything else to hang on to.

When it came time to leave, Hikaru forced himself down the stairs and into the waiting car, already regretting his decision to get out of bed.

While in the car, Hikaru decided to try and phone his parents once again, considering they were away on business and didn't know their son was missing. He hadn't had any luck with either of them since Kaoru's abduction, and didn't feel right texting or leaving a message about something so serious.

As he suspected, Hikaru got his mother's voicemail. When he tried his father, his heart suddenly fluttered.

"What, Hikaru, what?" His father practically yelled into the phone. "You've been calling me nonstop for the past week, can't you tell I'm busy?"

"Dad, please, listen." Hikaru pleaded, willing his father to stay on the line. "It's about-"

"I don't have time for this." And suddenly Hikaru was left listening to a dial tone.

"ARGH!" Hikaru let loose a guttural scream as he hurled his phone at the window of the car, feeling his rage bubble for a brief moment before it settled back into nothingness.

"Master Hikaru?" The driver peered at the elder Hitachiin in the backseat, concern all over his face.

"Oh, so now you know which one I am." Hikaru snapped before grabbing his surprisingly unharmed phone from the floor of the car.

"I apologize, sir."

"Apologizing isn't going to do anything." Hikaru grumbled. "It's about as effective as hoping and praying."

"I suppose you're right, sir."

Hikaru spent the rest of the trip staring out the window, wishing to hate the happy people they passed but unable to find the energy. When he got to the school, he went immediately to homeroom, which he never did. He and Kaoru were always the last students in the room, as they tended to wander and cause mischief whenever they had spare time. Walking through the classroom door without his other half was nearly impossible, but he somehow managed to force himself across the threshold and take his seat next to Haruhi, who was the only other person already in the room.

"Hey, you came." She said quietly. "Anything?"

"He's alive." Hikaru confirmed. He hadn't spoken to anyone in the past week, ignoring calls and turning down knocks on his door when any of the club members had tried to reach him.

"Is he okay?"

"What the hell do you think?" Hikaru snapped feeling that refreshing bubble of anger for a second. Anything was better than round the clock numbness.

"I didn't mean it like that, I meant is he hurt."

"Not majorly." Hikaru shook his head. "Listen, I don't feel like taking, okay?"

"Okay." Haruhi nodded and turned back to her desk. She could respect Hikaru's request for silence.

Hikaru went through his day feeling as if he was floating but also like his feet were encased in cement. Everything his teachers said went in one ear and out the other. His mind did nothing but wander to what Kaoru was going through, and Hikaru was left wondering why he'd bothered to leave his bedroom that morning.

More than one girl asked Hikaru where his brother was. Never, "where's Kaoru?" always, "where's your brother?" It made Hikaru's stomach churn to know that they couldn't even figure out which one was which when there was only one of them present. Not that he really wanted to be told apart from Kaoru, it was just infuriating that people could be so clueless. Every time someone asked about Kaoru, Haruhi was quick to explain that both twins had had to have their appendix removed, and Kaoru was just a bit slower on the recovery due to complications. Hikaru silently thanked Haruhi for her quick thinking, and Kyoya for keeping Kaoru's disappearance out of the media. The Ootari police force was much more capable than Japan's forces, even if they hadn't found the slightest clue as to where Kaoru had been taken. It was better that people at school didn't know.

At the end of the day, club was cancelled and Hikaru was forcibly dragged to the music room by Tamaki.

"We haven't seen you in a week." The club's leader had insisted.

"Think there might be a reason for that?" Hikaru grumbled, but allowed himself to be lead to the rest of the club members.

"Hika-chan!" Honey immediately launched himself at Hikaru, wrapping his arms around the sulking Hitachiin. "Are you feeling any better?"

Hikaru couldn't help but glare at the tiny boy, hating how hyperactive he was during such a time.

"Mitsukuni." Mori warned, calling Honey back to his side. Honey latched onto Mori, cowering slightly at Hikaru's look of rage.

"Hikaru, there's something you should know." Kyoya invited Hikaru to sit on the couch across from him.

"What? What is it?" Hikaru forced the bubble of hope down, not wanting it to burst and leave him feeling worse than before.

"Regarding Kaoru, my lead detective believes he's been abducted into an ongoing human trafficking project." Kyoya adjusted his classes so the glare would hide his eyes as Hikaru's stomach dropped to the centre of the earth.

"What." Hikaru whispered, not able to find the energy to put any kind of inflection in his question as the room tilted slightly.

"They've looked back at files matching to Kaoru's and have noticed that the victimology and M.O. are the same as previous cases."

"Elaborate."

"Well, in the past three years, many family members of rich business owners have gone missing; namely children of CEOs and owners. If any of them were with someone else at the time of their abduction, they described the exact scenario you and Kaoru experienced: one being drugged and the other taken."

"And what else."

"Well, that's as far as Kaoru's case has gotten." Kyoya tried to keep a level voice and even expression, not wanting to give away his concern and make Hikaru feel worse than he already felt.

"What are the next steps."

"Well, the victim's families were sent ransom notes after two weeks of silence. Once the first ransom was paid, which was usually immediately, a second note was sent with double the amount in demand."

"Once the second ransom was paid."

"You don't need to know the rest…" Kyoya dropped his head, a single crack in his voice betraying his stoic façade.

"Yes. I do." Hikaru demanded.

"Fine…" Kyoya took a breath, not wanting to read the rest of the report out loud. It hurt for him, he couldn't imagine how it felt for Hikaru. "One week after the second ransom was paid, the… body of the victim was delivered to the family."

"So, what you're telling me… is that my brother… is going to die."

"Please, Hikaru, understand that we're doing everything we can." Kyoya assured, to no avail. "I have my best detectives working around the clock to figure something, anything out. We want him back too."

Without a word, Hikaru rose, not bothering to move his hair out of his face as he slowly stalked past the rest of the lingering host club and toward the door. Before he got there however, he cried out and dropped to the floor.

"Hikaru!" everyone cried and rushed toward him.

Hikaru suddenly toppled to the side, feeling as though someone had pushed him over, and felt searing pain tear through his stomach.

"Kaoru!" he gasped, barely able to breathe. Then, his air was cut off all together, and Hikaru was left clawing at invisible hands as they tightened around his throat.


	9. Chapter 9

Kaoru clawed at the man's meaty fingers as they tightened around his throat, but his struggles quickly diminished as his body weakened, instinctively conserving oxygen. It wasn't until he started turning blue and his eyes began to drift closed that the man released Kaoru and left him to cough and gasp on the floor.

"Your mother demoted my wife to work on a production line." The man growled, his fist connecting with the side of Kaoru's face with the last word. "She was the CEO of her company!" another punch and Kaoru felt the skin over his cheekbone rip open as blood dripped from somewhere in his mouth. "Now she works in a sweatshop!" The room spun and Kaoru saw his own blood splattering on the floor as the man continued beating on him, screaming about what his mother had done to ruin the man's family, about how hard they'd had to work to regain their status.

Kaoru left himself, a technique he'd quickly mastered when he'd been brought to his prison. He concentrated on tuning the man's anger out and pictured a sea of black, broken only by Hikaru's face. And suddenly, he wasn't in pain anymore. He was with Hikaru, sitting on a bench somewhere, watching the sunset. He stayed in his own world, barely feeling the pain of what the man was doing to him as he leaned on his brother's shoulder.

As he was being dragged back to his cell, unable to walk on his own after three hours of the man's rage, Kaoru folded up his vision and stored it in the back of his mind, saving it for the next time he would need it. He wanted more than anything to stay and be with his brother, but he knew that if he didn't come out of that world, he would eventually be unable to return to the real one.

Kaoru came to as he was being shackled to the wall in his cell, and he was able to feel every new bruise, cut, and scrape that had been left on his body. The guards left and Kaoru stared at the wall, not even able to cry. He felt nothing. Absolutely nothing. No malice, no fear, not even sadness. It was as if his emotions were attached to a light switch and someone had flipped it off.

Sometime later, Kaoru heard his door open and a familiar face came in.

"Geez, he did a number on you, huh?" Mikami, the man who delivered food, crouched down next to Kaoru and pulled the thin blanket that was laying at the end of the mattress over him. He then cracked open the water bottle he was carrying and set it next to the mattress, hoping Kaoru would be able to move enough to drink it. "I'm so sorry." Mikami whispered.

"Why do you do it?" Kaoru suddenly asked, not knowing where his curiosity or energy had come from. "Why do you work here?"

Mikami hung his head and rose, leaving without a response. He was the only employee who wasn't a complete asshole, which made Kaoru glad that he'd decided to befriend him.

Kaoru forced himself to sit up, wincing and hissing with every movement. He reached for the water, groaning as his freshly sliced back stretched and bled. The man had carved a large 'X' into Kaoru's back, running from each shoulder to the opposite hip. The cuts were deeper than previous instances of branding, and were still bleeding. The bruises around Kaoru's throat made it nearly impossible to swallow even tiny mouthfuls of water, but Kaoru forced himself to choke half of it down before giving up. No matter how nice he was, Mikami still followed Shuko's orders, and Kaoru didn't blame him. He clearly didn't want to be in this place, something was keeping him here, and Kaoru intended to find out what that something was.

When Mikami came back to retrieve the empty water bottle, he spent a moment searching for and replacing the cap and whispered. "I was told it was a prison. My mother is sick and I need money to pay for her treatments. It's the only way."

With that, Mikami left, not looking back or allowing Kaoru time to respond.

As soon as Kaoru had found a somewhat comfortable position to lay in, Shuko came sauntering through the door.

"My, my," he shook his head, "look was Fuyuki has done to you." Shuko crouched and grasped Kaoru's jaw, forcing his head to the other side so he could inspect the bruising while Kaoru held back a hiss of pain. "Mikami told me I should have a look at you, he mentioned your back as well, let's have a look." He roughly grabbed Kaoru's arm and yanked him into a sitting position. Kaoru couldn't hold back his quiet cry of pain at such rough handling. "Tsk, tsk." Shuko shook his head and snapped his fingers, calling the men in from where they were waiting outside. They undid Kaoru's shackles and hauled him off the floor, assuming he couldn't walk, and dragged him between them.

"This will simply not do…" Shuko mumbled as he led the way into a hall Kaoru hadn't seen before. "Fuyuki needs to learn the rules." The group came to a stop in front of a door labelled 'infirmary," Kaoru didn't bother trying to get his feet under him, he was too tired and well beyond the point of caring.

"Hello, Aiko!" Shuko greeted the female nurse who wore black scrubs as they came through the door. "Kaoru here has some wounds that need stitching."

Kaoru was thrown down on a cold metal table, face first, and restrained at the wrists, shoulders, knees, and ankles. His bruised body screamed at every movement, but he couldn't be bothered to scream.

"I see…" Aiko mumbled as she poked and prodded at Kaoru's back, making him twitch. "How long has he been bleeding?"

"About an hour." Shuko responded. Had that been it? Was it only sixty minutes? It had felt like an eternity.

"Alright, I'll get him fixed up." Aiko nodded to Shuko.

"Thank you, Aiko!" Shuko called over his shoulder. "Oh, and one more thing!" he paused in the doorway. "There's no need to freeze him."

Kaoru groaned at the thought of going through cleaning and stitching with no anesthetic, but figured there was nothing he could do other than try to take it with a brave face.

"Sorry, sweetie." Aiko began collecting bottles and kits from around the small, sterile smelling room. "Boss's orders."

Aiko first took to cleaning the blood away from Kaoru's back, gently dabbing and wiping his skin with a warm, wet cloth. It wasn't so bad, but Kaoru knew the worst was definitely yet to come. When the antiseptic was applied, Kaoru flinched and yelped at the stinging sizzle it caused in his crudely carved brand.

"I know it hurts, hon, but I've gotta do it." Aiko whispered, continuing to clean out the deep lacerations. Her heart broke slightly for the boy, who was lying in a puddle of his own tears before she was even a quarter done cleaning up his back. "If this gets infected you're in big trouble."

She cursed Shuko every time he ordered her not to use anesthetic. Most of the people she tended to were children, and they'd been through so much before they came to her, so why couldn't she give them a break?

"I'm almost done." She assured as she neared the end of the cleaning process Kaoru had blacked out twice, which she could tell by his breath evening out for a few moments. "This is going to be worse." She warned as she threw out the last of her bloody cotton and pulled out a sterile needle and thread, preparing to stitch him up. "Deep breaths."

Kaoru whimpered as the needle pierced his skin and tugged at the rough edges of his brand, letting the silent tears to flow freely as his body tried to pull away from the pain. He decided that he could fade away for a few minutes, and brought his little world forward from the back of his mind. He and Hikaru sat on that bench, staring at the same sunset, never changing, never speaking, only comforting each other. Kaoru found himself snuggling deeper into Hikaru's shoulder, and his brother held him tighter. He could still feel the tugging of the needle and thread lacing his skin back together, but it felt more like he was getting stitches with anesthetic, more annoying than anything else.

When Kaoru felt as if he was being pulled away from Hikaru, he folded up his escape and returned to the reality of being dragged down the halls with a back full of stitches. Once he was re-shackled, Shuko came back into his room.

"Looking like that, you can't take customers for a couple of days." Shuko sneered. "But that means you'll simply have to take two a day to make up for the days you miss."

Kaoru didn't show any sign of hearing Shuko, and continued staring that the wall until he got up and left.

 _"_ _Two a day?"_ he thought to himself. _"I can barely handle one…"_


	10. Chapter 10

The few days that followed Hikaru's return to school brought no feeling. The cold spells disappeared, the pain was dull and easy to ignore, there was no emotion to be shared between the twins. By the end of day three, Hikaru had had enough. He went to his father's bathroom and collected what he was looking for before going back to his own and jumping in the shower.

He needed to feel something. Anything. It was impossible to feel happy, the host club had tried and failed non-stop to cheer him up. Anger took too much energy. It was surprising that misery never even became a thought. So Hikaru turned to pain.

He ran the water as hot as it would go, letting it run over him as he sat on the shower floor. It stung slightly, but he got used to the heat in a matter of seconds.

Hikaru turned the razor blade over in his hands for a few minutes, contemplating. He could recall judging people in the past for doing exactly what he was about to do. But the emptiness was consuming him. He brought the sharp edge of the metal to his ankle and slowly dragged it across his skin, barely scratching it. The mild sting felt nice. He lined up the razor again and made a second, deeper cut next to the first, hissing as the stinging intensified. He watched as small beads of blood pooled and dripped onto the shower floor, swirling and melding with the water as they danced across the tile and slipped down the drain. He continued, cutting deeper and deeper, feeling the pain move further and further up his leg until he had bleeding cuts from his heel to halfway up the side of his calf. He was in pain. He felt guilty for doing such a foolish thing. He felt something. And that was all he cared about.

Hikaru stared at his leg until the bleeding stopped and the water had run cold. He hadn't noticed that he was shivering, which was fine by him. The more feelings the better. He turned the water off and hauled himself off the floor, wrapping a towel around his waist and heading into his room, relishing the stabbing pain of guilt in his stomach and the stinging discomfort in his leg.

Hikaru made sure to put on long pyjama pants, following through on his reasoning for choosing his legs over his arms: they were easier to cover. He fell into bed, thinking of Kaoru, missing him, feeling guilty about him. The negative thoughts comforted Hikaru enough to fall asleep quickly and easily, but he had no dreams. By the time his alarm went off on Friday morning, Hikaru was convinced he hadn't slept at all.

Hikaru contemplated staying home, but figured he could survive one more day at school. It wasn't as if he did much anyway, he just mindlessly wandered to his classes, Haruhi making sure he didn't lose his way, and sat, pretending to listen while he doodled mazes in his notebook. In the past, he'd never found himself planning out how a maze would work, they just simply came together and had accessible pathways. But now, he found all of his mazes to be impossible, with no path. Unsolvable.

Club was cancelled again at the end of the day, and Hikaru was dragged to meet with his friends in music room three. He plopped onto a couch, the emptiness becoming nearly unbearable yet again.

"Hikaru." Kyoya nodded as he sat opposite the blank faced red head. The rest of the club bustled about, pretending not to eavesdrop. "On Sunday, we will find out for certain if Kaoru is with the group we are suspecting."

"I know." Hikaru had been counting down the days until the ransom note would show up in his mailbox.

"If you do receive a ransom note, do not touch it without the use of gloves, and bring it directly to my residence so we can take it to the forensics lab."

"I will." Hikaru nodded.

Kyoya paused for a moment before speaking again. "Are your parents aware of the situation?" He asked, already able to infer the answer. He knew they weren't home. They were hardly ever home.

"No." Hikaru huffed. "My mom hasn't answered her phone and the one time my dad picked up he hung up on me before I could say anything."

"Well keep trying to reach them."

"I have been, every day."

"Keep at it until you get a response."

"I will." Hikaru pushed himself off of the couch and headed for the door.

"Where are you going, Hikaru?" Tamaki called after him.

"Home." He said back, not bothering to glance at the rest of the club, who stared after him, expecting him to cry out or collapse as he usually did. It seemed like the universe just didn't want Hikaru to leave rooms. But, he left the room and made it to the front of the school where his ride was idling.

In the car, Hikaru pulled out his cell phone, dialing his father's number. The call went directly to voicemail, as expected, so he tried his mother again. It rang three times before Hikaru's heart fluttered at a voice on the other end.

"Hello dear, you caught me at a good time, I'm between shows." His mother said cheerfully. "How are things?"

"Mom…" Hikaru's voice cracked, and tears suddenly poured from his eyes as he heard the voice of a family member. It wasn't Kaoru, but just hearing another Hitachiin was soothing.

"Hikaru, what's wrong?" alarm was evident in her voice just as despair was evident in his.

"Mom, Kaoru… Kaoru's been kidnapped."

"WHAT?!" his mother shrieked. "We're getting the first plane home! I'll see you soon."

With that, she hung up, leaving her broken son to listen to a dial tone.


	11. Chapter 11

Kaoru flinched as he felt the stinging starting up in his leg again. He whimpered as the pain of skin being torn apart burned in his calf, wishing for Hikaru to stop. It made him feel sick to think of Hikaru hurting himself, knowing it was his fault. Kaoru was the one feeling empty and numb, but the twins' emotions were linked as if they were one. Hikaru was clearly feeling everything Kaoru was, and probably more.

Kaoru tried to ignore the pain, knowing he would only cry if he thought of Hikaru, and focused on the wall across from him. Tomorrow was the day he would begin taking clients again, despite his stitches being less than halfway healed. He hadn't had to pull his alternate reality out in a few days, which was nice. He also hadn't seen much more than the four walls of his cell in the past few days, which was not nice.

While Kaoru was lost in thought, Mikami came in with his daily bowl of rice and half apple. He set it down near Kaoru's head.

"Your first ransom note goes out tomorrow at three am." Mikami whispered as he opened the water bottle for Kaoru, who still had limited movement.

"Ransom note?" Kaoru asked, furrowing his brow.

"They send one out, then once that's paid, another demanding double the amount of the first. Once _that's_ paid, they keep you for a few more days, make some more money, then…"

Mikami didn't have to say the rest. Kaoru should have been terrified, but he was beyond a fear of dying. Nothing could be worse than what had happened to him already. Dying could be kind of nice. If he died, he wouldn't have to live with himself.

Then, his thoughts turned to Hikaru. If Kaoru died, there would be no way Hikaru would ever forgive himself. Both twins knew that they were the only people on the planet that they couldn't live without. They needed each other. If one was gone, the other would go. Kaoru wouldn't be able to live with himself if Hikaru died, so why would the situation change in a role reversal?

"I have a plan." Mikami mouthed before rising and leaving promptly.

 _"_ _A plan?"_ Kaoru thought as he sat up and picked up his bowl of rice. He didn't much feel like eating after Mikami's speech, but he was already starving as it was, he didn't need to skip any meals, or these sorry excuses for meals.

When Mikami came back, he discretely dropped a tiny piece of paper next to Kaoru's hand, which Kaoru scooped up while Mikami stood between him and the camera. As Mikami left, Kaoru rolled over and pulled the blanket up, turning his back on the surveillance camera to read the note.

After Kaoru had finished skimming the few scrawled lines, he sighed. Mikami's plan was insane, and put him in immense danger, but it was the only hope Kaoru-and everyone else being kept prisoner-had.


	12. Chapter 12

"I'm so sorry, Hikaru, there's a terrible storm and our connecting flight was grounded, we won't be able to make it home until Monday." His mother's tears were audible in the message she'd left at three A.M. "Keep us updated on anything that happens, I love you." Hikaru set his phone down, wondering whether it would be better if his parents were to come home or stay away. Hikaru was still furious with his parents for ignoring his calls for so long. In his most dire time of need, Hikaru was left alone, unable to accept the support of his friends, separated from his family. When Sunday morning had come, and a message had been left, he knew his parents were failing him yet again. Could he forgive them?

The ransom note had come sometime in the middle of the night, demanding fifty million yen for Kaoru's safe return. He had immediately called Kyoya, who picked him up and let him tag along to the forensics lab. It was highly unlikely that any fibres or fingerprints would show up on the note, considering the trafficking ring was suspected to have been operating for three years without getting broken up, but there was always hope.

Kyoya returned with his coffee to the hallway where Hikaru was pacing. There was a large window into the room where forensic scientists were running the note through multiple tests, hoping to turn up any sort of evidence.

"Hikaru." Kyoya said, softly, getting the other boy's attention. "Pacing isn't going to help."

"Well it helps me." Hikaru countered, not bothering to stop.

"Really?" Kyoya questioned as he plopped down in a chair, sipping his coffee. He was nervous too, but he didn't have any ticks that helped him calm down.

"No." Hikaru sighed. "But I can't sit still."

"Mr. Ootari!" An excited looking lab technician suddenly burst from the door, crumpling the stack of papers he held in his fist.

Kyoya flew to his feet and Hikaru was on his heels as he strode to the scientist. "What is it, have you found something?"

"We found a fingerprint on the note." The man nodded. "We're running it through our system now. If he's had a history with the police or had a police check in his life, he'll be in our database."

"Good, good." Kyoya nodded. "Keep us posted."

"Yes, sir." The man sped back into the room with a flourish of his lab coat and made a dash for his computer.

"Is that all we need?" Hikaru asked, hope suddenly filling his voice. "Just one fingerprint to get Kaoru back?"

"Potentially yes." Kyoya confirmed. "If he's in our database, we find him and bring him in for questioning."

Hikaru sunk to his knees, leaning his head on the glass before him, tears streaming down his face. But for the first time in two weeks, they were tears of hope. This could be the ticket, the ticket to getting Hikaru's other half out of his hell and back to his life.

Kyoya rested a hand on Hikaru's shoulder, not really knowing what to do for his crying friend. He'd never been good with other people's emotions, but he had a feeling that simply being there with him may have been enough.

Twenty minutes later, they had a name.

"Mikami Yano, twenty-five years of age, has a history of shoplifting and petty theft until he stopped about three years ago. He was arrested four years ago for attempted robbery, when he got out, he never had a run-in with the cops again." Kyoya read as he and Hikaru rode in the back of a car, on their way to Yano's residence. "The jump from minor theft to human trafficking doesn't make sense…" Kyoya mumbled, flipping through the rest of his files. "And he didn't start stealing until he was twenty… something must have happened…"

"Who cares?" Hikaru interrupted. "He knows where Kaoru is."

"I suppose you're right." Kyoya sighed, trying not to let the incomplete profile bother him.

Three hours later, they arrived in Azumino, in front of a very humble home. It looked to be about the same size as Haruhi's apartment. A member of the force knocked on the door, announcing their presence, but got no response. The troop of black vans that had made the trek spaced themselves along the street so as not to look overly suspicious, and waited. Hikaru couldn't keep his leg still, and Kyoya actually fund himself fiddling with his pen for the first time he could recall.

The waiting lasted only thirty minutes before a car pulled into Yano's driveway, but it felt like an eternity had gone by. As soon as Yano got out of his car, officers surrounded him. He went willingly, not putting up any sort of a fight, and allowed himself to be cuffed and put in a car. The vans pulled away, heading to the nearest police station, which Kyoya had alerted.

Once at the station, Kyoya and Hikaru sat in front of a window that allowed them to see into the interrogation room. A speaker allowed them to hear everything that was being said as well.

"Why was your finger print on this note?" The officer who was in charge of the interrogation asked, sliding the note forward.

"Listen, I'll cooperate as long as you can guarantee my safety." Yano said, his voice shaking. The man had come willingly, yet seemed frightened of something.

"Safety from what?" The officer demanded.

"My boss. He will not hesitate to kill me if he finds out what I've done."

"We can negotiate that after you've told us what you know."

"Fine." Yano sighed. "I made sure my fingerprints would be on that note. I needed to get out of that horrible, horrible place."

"What place?"

"They told me it was a prison, that's why I took the job."

"What job?"

"Serving food to inmates, only, they weren't inmates… This man, Shuko, he takes people away from, their families, keeps them in concrete cells, chained to the wall, let's people pay to… rape them… most of these people are children." Yano kept his head down, so it was impossible to see his face, but it was obvious that he was crying.

"Why step forward now?"

"A boy was brought in a couple of weeks ago, Kaoru Hitachiin." Kyoya looked to Hikaru, who was seething through his tears. He'd known all along what was happening to Kaoru, but hearing it confirmed… Hikaru felt like he needed to throw up. "He was different from the rest. He never fought back, but he didn't give up. He didn't let it get to him. I guess you could say his courage was inspiring."

"Hikaru." Kyoya nodded towards the door to the interrogation room, and the redhead was through it before Kyoya could finish blinking.

"You put your life at risk for Kaoru?" Hikaru asked.

Yano looked up from his knees into the face of Kaoru Hitachiin, but not Kaoru, he was still chained to a wall. In a basement.

"I'm Hikaru." He explained. "Kaoru's twin brother."

"Hikaru, I'm so sorry."

"You know where he is, right?" Hikaru pleaded.

"Yes, yes I can take you, or show you on a map, I know where it is."

"You're going to take us." Kyoya was suddenly in the door as well. "He's not a threat," Kyoya said to the interrogator, "he'll ride with us and navigate."

"Thank you." Hikaru choked out, meeting Yano's eyes. He simply nodded back, feeling a major sense of relief and dread as he thought of what was to come.

But of course, happy moments can't stay happy, and Hikaru was once again knocked to the floor by an unseen force, clutching the left side of his chest and gasping for air.

"Hikaru!" Kyoya was on the ground next to his friend in a second, wishing Tamaki or Haruhi or someone was there.

"Do we need an ambulance?" The interrogator asked.

"No, just give us some room." Kyoya shook his head.

"Not now, not now, not when we're so close." Hikaru moaned as the pain spread through his ribcage.

"Hikaru-"

"I'm fine, let's go." He got shakily to his feet, his breath shallow. Kyoya swooped under his arm and let the younger boy lean on him as they headed to the cars. Every member of the Ootari police force was en-route, following orders from Kyoya and Hikaru's car as Yano directed them. It took twenty painfully long minutes to arrive at a long, tree-lined driveway. They ditched the cars, officers in black riot gear running towards the massive building in the distance.

"Are you ready for this?" Kyoya asked Hikaru, who was sitting at the edge of the backseat of one of the vans, his feet dangling out of the open door. His pain had mostly dissipated, replaced with a dull ache that was barely noticeable in his adrenaline filled state.

"Yeah." Hikaru nodded. "Mikami." He called over his shoulder to the man who was slightly cowering behind a van. "You know where Kaoru is?"

"Y-yes." He stuttered, visibly shaking.

"Good, let's go."


	13. Chapter 13

Kaoru didn't know what he'd done to piss off the guard as he was being dragged back to his room, but apparently it warranted a boot to the chest. He didn't remember doing anything; he only remembered hearing a crunch as the man's massive foot collided with his left side. He had cried out, gasping for air but only cursing his lungs for expanding and jostling his bones. Being thrown down on the mattress and manhandled as he was chained up didn't help much either. Neither did the second blow to his side, which left Kaoru in tears. He just lay there for a while, debating whether or not his situation called for escape. He decided it didn't, and just lay still, feeling the pain slowly reduce to a dull, throbbing ache.

Mikami's plan should have taken effect the night prior, meaning he would either be killed, arrested, or save everyone in the prison by the time Sunday night rolled around. Kaoru prayed for the third option, wanting nothing more than to breathe fresh air and see his brother again.

He lay there, thinking of what he would do if he was reunited with Hikaru. Probably cry. Definitely cry. They both would. They would just hold each other, sobbing into each other's shoulders until they ran out of tears. Then they would just be together, comforting each other in the way that only they could.

Kaoru was startled by the sound of yelling in the hallway outside of his door, and fought the urge to curl in on himself. It was probably just a newbie making a racket. He'd heard that three times since he'd been brought into his cell, and it was never pretty. He seemed to be one of the best-behaved newcomers by his experience.

But the yelling didn't stop, and Kaoru started to feel uneasy. There were lots of voices, more than there were guards outside in the hall, and multiple pairs of boots clunking down the concrete floors. He couldn't make out words through the thick metal door, but he heard voices he'd never heard before

The yelling migrated toward Kaoru's end of the hall, and he began to wonder if Mikami had carried out his plan, whether it was going well or horribly.

Kaoru yanked himself into a sitting position, hissing with every movement as his ribcage protested, and backed into the corner, pulling his knees up to his chest, suddenly frightened. He resumed his balled-up position, hugging his knees to his chest and hiding his head between them. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to tune out the commotion, feeling a rush of anger run through him. Why was he angry? And what else was he feeling? Was that… Determination? Hope? Something to that extent.

Kaoru kept cowering as the yelling built up outside of his door then faded. Silence fell in the hallway, but Kaoru didn't dare look up. Suddenly, voices could be heard in the hall, they started far down, then began coming closer, accompanied by pounding feet. Then, the beeping outside of his door started. Kaoru curled into himself further at first, but just as the door opened, he felt it. He opened his arms just as Hikaru crashed into him and wrapped him in a tight embrace. Kaoru yelped as Hikaru pulled him close.

"Kaoru!" Hikaru loosened his grip at his brother's cry of pain.

"No, don't let go." Kaoru sobbed into his brother's shoulder, shaking as he latched onto Hikaru for dear life, never wanting to let go of him again. "Don't let go."

"Kaoru." Hikaru whispered as he sobbed with his brother. Mikami silently stepped forward, unlocking the cuffs around Kaoru's wrists with the keys he'd grabbed off of the guard as he was arrested. The chains fell loosely, clattering against the concrete.

Kyoya watched, smiling sadly at the twins. He was glad they'd been reunited, but from what Mikami had told him about this place, they were going to have a hell of a time recovering.

Kyoya glanced back and forth between the room and the hallway, where prisoners were being escorted out of their cells, wrapped in blankets. Some were cowering from the officers, some were crying, some were running for the exit. All of them were bruised, bloody and had a look of terror in their eyes.

When an officer came for Kaoru, the twins didn't let go of each other. Hikaru helped Kaoru to wrap the thin, holey blanket around his shoulders and walked with him out of the concrete prison. When they emerged from the darkness and into the dim light of the evening, Kaoru broke down again, leaning on Hikaru heavily.

"What is it?" Hikaru asked softly, feeling his brother's distress.

"We missed the sunset." Kaoru choked out. Normally he would have been embarrassed about crying over something so silly, but he couldn't help it.

"It's okay." Hikaru whispered. "It's not cloudy."

Kaoru smiled, somehow finding the strength to chuckle at his brother as Hikaru followed suit.

"He needs to go to the hospital." Kyoya rested a hand on Hikaru's shoulder, beckoning for a paramedic to them. He had seen the giant black patch on the side of Kaoru's chest, the telltale sign of broken ribs, and had recalled Hikaru's pain earlier in the day. Hikaru nodded, but continued to cling to his brother just as tightly as Kaoru was clinging to him. There was no way they would be letting each other out of their sight for a long time.

The paramedic wove through the crowds of people who were milling about to cop cars and Ootari vans, rolling a gurney up to the small group and looked expectantly at Kaoru. Kaoru's grip on Hikaru tightened, and he whimpered softly. He'd just gotten reunited with his brother, and now they were going to take him away again?

"It's okay, Kaoru, we'll be right behind you." Kyoya assured.

"Hey, I'll be there." Hikaru whispered, forcing himself to release Kaoru, who just looked at him with wide eyes, brimming with fresh tears. "I promise."

Kaoru nodded and winced as he climbed onto the gurney. Both twins resisted the urge to run to each other while Kaoru was loaded into the ambulance and Hikaru was dragged into a black van with Kyoya and Mikami. The van took off, en route to the same hospital that the ambulance was heading to. Hikaru's leg was bouncing as his mind ran, thinking about how scared Kaoru would be. They were in a strange city, going to a strange hospital, with a bunch of strange people poking and prodding at him. He wanted more than anything to just be with him.

Hikaru suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder, and turned to meet Kyoya's eyes. "He'll be okay." He assured. "So will you."

Hikaru nodded, trying to stop his hands from shaking.

"Have you told your parents we found him?" Kyoya asked, trying to distract his friend for a bit.

Hikaru's eyes widened, and pulled out his cell phone, immediately dialing his mother. Surprisingly, she picked up on the first ring.

"Hikaru! What is it?" she practically shouted.

"Mom, we found him." Hikaru let a new wave of tears flow down his cheeks as he finally admitted to himself that it was over. Kaoru was going to be home. They would be together again.

"Let me talk to him!" she did shout this time, and Hikaru found it mildly annoying that his mother never bothered to call when she didn't know Kaoru was missing, or any other time she was away at that. She only had time to speak to her kids when something happened.

"He's not with me, he's on his way to the hospital."

"That hospital?!" she shrieked, causing Hikaru to flinch away from the phone. "Is he okay?!"

"I'll tell you when we get there." Hikaru gave her the name of the hospital before hanging up, not wanting to deal with his mother anymore.

"You should probably know," Mikami spoke up as Hikaru put his phone back in his pocket, "Kaoru won't be too happy to see your parents."

"Why's that?" Kyoya asked, seeing Hikaru's confused look.

"Because they take people from rich families, and tell them that their parents have done horrible things to others. They convince them that it's their parents' fault they've been taken."

"How so?"

"You know what happened there with the…" Mikami trailed off and looked for Kyoya's nod of confirmation and Hikaru's ill expression. "Well, the people who did that paid a large sum of money. Shuko would cut their rate in half if they made up some story about how the kids parents had wronged them or their family in some way. Most of it was bullshit, but it would screw anyone up."

"Kaoru wouldn't believe that." Hikaru shook his head in defiance.

"I'm not saying anything against him." Mikami assured. "He was one of the strongest ones there, but that doesn't mean his mind couldn't me manipulated. I'm not sure you grasp just how horrible it was for prisoners there."

"Oh, I know." Hikaru grumbled thinking back to every time he'd felt Kaoru's fear or hate or shame or pain. Every itch, every laboured breath, every spark of anger. The hunger pangs, the cold showers, the stiffness from being curled up too long. Above all, the emptiness. Hikaru had felt it all. It was as if he'd been right there with Kaoru, experiencing everything with him. "I know…"


	14. Chapter 14

"Kaoru Hitachiin?" The receptionist typed away after Kyoya demanded to know the whereabouts of the boy. "He's just gone in for surgery."

"What surgery?!" Hikaru nearly shouted, feeling panic rise in his throat. He'd just gotten Kaoru back, and now he had to sit in a waiting room, stressing out while his brother was being operated on?

"I'm not permitted to give that information out to anyone other than family." The receptionist countered. Clearly, she didn't have a photo of Kaoru on her computer.

"This is Kaoru's twin brother." Kyoya grumbled. "And my family owns this hospital, meaning I can access any records I please, so I suggest you save me some time and tell us what is happening."

"Fine." The woman turned back to her computer. "He's having a dislocated rib put back in place, he shouldn't be long."

"Thank you." Kyoya said, coldly, and dragged Hikaru away from the desk.

"Can we see him?" Mikami asked as the pair returned to where he was sitting in an uncomfortable plastic chair.

"He's in surgery." Kyoya explained as he and Hikaru sat down. Hikaru's leg immediately started bouncing up and down, as he tapped his fingers on the table next to him. "He's getting a dislocated rib replaced."

"Hikaru…" Mikami trailed off and Kyoya looked over to see his friend silently letting tears flow down his cheeks.

"What can I do?" Kyoya asked, resting a hand on Hikaru's tightly clenched fist.

Hikaru just shook his head, shot out of his seat and ran down the hall.

"Should we go after him?" Mikami asked, looking panic-stricken.

"No." Kyoya shook his head. "They've never been good at letting others in, even to help them. He needs Kaoru right now, and because he can't have the one thing he needs, he needs to be alone."

Mikami nodded, kind of able to imagine the pain Hikaru and Kaoru had been through. He'd grown up and only child, with just a mother to spend time with. When she'd gotten sick, it was devastating. She was the only family he had.

"How did you end up working there?" Kyoya asked, breaking Mikami's train of thought. "You shoplifted for profit, and were jailed for a couple of months because of it, how did you get the job?"

"When I was in jail, I met this guy." Mikami breathed, recalling how his horrible downward spiral had begun. "He knew Shuko, and told me I should apply for a job at his prison. I called him when I got out, got the job then and there, went in to serve food my first day and figured out what the place was. It was much smaller then, but still just as horrible. I tried to leave, but he threatened to kill me, and my mother. So I stayed. The pay was good, enough to cover my mother's treatments, but I was always trying to come up with ways to get out of it."

"Well then you won't be prosecuted." Kyoya decided.

"How can you know?"

"You were acting out of self-preservation. At first you didn't know what it was, then you stayed because your life and the life of a family member was on the line. You've technically done nothing wrong."

"Well that's a relief."

The two sat in silence for a while before Hikaru came back. He was infinitely calmer than he'd been before, which was evident in his ability to sit still.

"Where did you go?" Kyoya asked, mildly concerned at his friend's seemingly magical transformation.

"Just for a walk." Hikaru replied, lazily.

Kyoya dropped it for a few minutes, but kept his eye on Hikaru, which was a good thing considering he happened to notice a deep red stain forming below the knee of Hikaru's jeans.

"Hikaru, your leg." Kyoya said, an edge of concern in his voice. If Hikaru had done what Kyoya was thinking…

"What?" Hikaru looked down at his jeans and his eyes widened. "Shit…" He breathed, seeing the large splotch of blood growing steadily.

Kyoya reached down and tugged Hikaru's pant leg up before he could protest, revealing an array of cuts and scratches running in different directions all over Hikaru's leg.

"Let go!" Hikaru tried to shove Kyoya off of him, but the older boy was stronger, and dragged Hikaru up to the desk, relaying to the receptionist what had happened. Hikaru was immediately whisked away to get checked out, despite his theatrical struggle against the orderlies.

"What was that about?" Mikami's eyes were wide as Kyoya sat down. He was noticeably paler than he'd previously been, and his stoic façade had melted into an expression of concern.

"I was worried that Hikaru had been hurting himself." Kyoya mumbled. "My suspicions were just proven."

"Why would he do that?" Mikami shook his head in confusion. "Wasn't he in enough pain?"

"Quite the opposite, actually. Early on, Hikaru and Kaoru shut down. You said Kaoru didn't let it get to him, he did. He figured out how to turn his emotions off, which, in turn, made Hikaru turn his emotions off. Hikaru was almost convinced Kaoru had been killed at one point."

"Wait… what?"

"I don't fully understand myself, but they have something special. A connection."

"Was that why Hikaru collapsed in the interrogation room earlier?"

"Precisely. That would have been the moment when Kaoru's ribs were broken."

"That's kind of cool, but also really… awful." Mikami shook his head, wondering if a bond so strong would be worth feeling two people's worth of pain.

"It's interesting in its own way."


	15. Chapter 15

An hour later, Hikaru had been stitched up and was sitting next to his brother's hospital bed, listening to the steady beeping of the heart monitor. Kaoru looked horrible. He was gaunt and pale, but mostly bruised. His face was scratched and black, there was a blue and yellow ring around his neck. His hair was matted and tangled.

"Hikaru, have you eaten anything today?" Kyoya spoke up from the other side of the room, where he was silently observing Hikaru holding onto Kaoru's limp hand, rubbing his thumb in rhythmic circles against the pale flesh. The question originated from Kyoya's sudden spike of hunger.

"No." Hikaru shook his head, not taking his eyes off of his sleeping twin.

"Do you need anything?" Kyoya prompted, standing to leave the room in hopes of finding something to eat.

"No."

"Is 'no' the only word you're capable of saying?"

"No."

"Good to know." Kyoya smirked, recognizing Hikaru's attempt at a joke. "I'll be back."

Hikaru didn't reply as Kyoya left the room. He waited until the door closed to let his tears fall.

"I'm sorry, Kaoru…" He whispered, letting silent sobs tear through him. "I'm so sorry."

Hikaru just cried, cursing everyone who had hurt his brother. Kaoru hadn't done anything to deserve what had happened to him. He would never in his life do anything to justify it. He wished for each and every person in that horrible place to rot in prison for the rest of their lives. He didn't want them to die unless he could be the one holding the dullest knife he could find.

It was half an hour later when Kaoru's eyes fluttered open, and he stared around the room lazily.

"Hey." Hikaru squeezed Kaoru's hand gently, trying to stop his slow stream of tears. "How are you feeling?"

Kaoru didn't respond, but squeezed his eyes shut and started crying.

"What's wrong, are you in pain?" Hikaru felt panic starting to rise, looking for a button to call for a nurse.

Kaoru shook his head, his hand shaking and tightening around Hikaru's.

"Hey, it's okay, you're safe now." Hikaru assured, using his free hand to stroke Kaoru's hair. He would have pulled his brother into a hug, but he was afraid to move him, so he moved his chair closer to the bed in an attempt to comfort his brother.

"Hikaru…" Kaoru's voice was ragged and broken, making his pain and fear obvious to anyone who could hear it.

"I won't let anyone hurt you ever again." Hikaru's tears started again. "I promise."

Kaoru opened his eyes, searching for his mirror image. They locked tear-filled eyes, exercising their ability to calm each other down by simply being together. Their tears sped up, but their panic disappeared. The tears were ones of joy. They were together, and wouldn't be apart for as long as they could help it.

"You should rest." Hikaru urged, seeing the bags under Kaoru's eyes through the bruises on his cheeks.

Kaoru started trying to sit up, cringing at the effort it took.

"Hey, relax." Hikaru's brows knit together as his brother struggled to move.

Kaoru shook his head, managing to sit up and shift over to the other side of the bed. "Sit with me." He croaked.

Hikaru smiled, climbing into the surprisingly lump-free bed and shifting back so he was leaning against the wall. He let Kaoru lean into him, rest his head on Hikaru's shoulder, and snuggle into his chest. Hikaru held his brother close, nuzzling the top of his head as Kaoru drifted back to sleep. Sitting there in the hospital bed, everything felt right with the world. Hikaru could ignore the sterile smell, the annoying beep, and the fluorescent lighting. Everything was okay for that one moment.

.o0o.o0o.o0o.o0o.o0o.

When Kyoya returned from his food search baring nothing but coffee, a smile graced his stoic face. He closed the door quietly, so as not to disturb the twins, who had fallen asleep leaning against each other. Hikaru looked like he was finally relaxed. Kyoya returned to his seat in the corner, silently observing the sleeping twins, feeling balance return to his life.

"Hey." Mikami whispered as he came into the room a few minutes later. "How are they doing?"

"It's going to take a while, but I think they'll be okay." Kyoya smiled. "How's your mother?" It turned out that Mikami's mother was a patient in the same hospital Kaoru had been brought to, so he'd taken the opportunity to visit her.

"She's doing better." Mikami pulled up a chair next to Kyoya. "I don't know what I'm going to do now. I have some money saved up, but only enough for another month or two…"

"I'm sure you'll get it sorted." Kyoya adjusted his glasses, using the glare to hide the gleam in his eyes.

Mikami eyed Kyoya for a moment, but let it drop. He looked to the twins, still in disbelief. He couldn't fathom that he had managed to bring the whole system down. One fingerprint and everything fell apart. Or… had it come together? How had he not had the courage to do it before? All it had taken was getting his hands on the notes.

"Kaoru!" Hikaru shot awake seconds before his brother released a strangled cry and lurched forward. "It's okay, it's okay, I'm here." Hikaru pulled Kaoru close, feeling him shudder with each hyperventilated breath.

"That's impressive." Mikami breathed, astounded at Hikaru's sixth sense.

"It is." Kyoya nodded fondly. "It really is."


	16. Chapter 16

"I told the others we found him." Kyoya admitted as he and Hikaru walked back to Kaoru's room. He was still sound asleep, and Hikaru hadn't wanted to leave him, but Kyoya insisted that he had to move.

"Don't tell them where we are." Hikaru took a swig of his much-needed water. "He's overwhelmed enough as it is."

Kyoya nodded. "Tamaki has been calling me non-stop."

"Not yet." Hikaru shook his head. "Not yet."

"I understand."

Hikaru immediately crawled back into Kaoru's bed when they got back to the room, pulling Kaoru close, feeling his separation anxiety ease as soon as he snuggled into his brother. Kaoru was still sound asleep, not having woken since his nightmare hours before. Hikaru had been able to soothe him back to sleep, which he knew was dreamless by the peace that had settled over him.

Hikaru held Kaoru tight for what could have been seconds or days. He never wanted to let go of his brother again. He would keep Kaoru safe, no matter the cost.

"Hey, Kyoya?" Hikaru called softly across the room, suddenly getting a weird feeling of anticipation.

"Yes?" he looked up from his notes.

"What time is it?"

"Five thirty seven P.M."

"Monday?"

"Yes."

"Shit…" he breathed.

"What's the matter?" Kyoya asked, but was cut off by Hikaru's cell phone going off.

Hikaru groaned and reached for his cell. Kaoru stirred slightly. "Shh... It's okay." Hikaru assured Kaoru as he answered the phone. "Hello?"

"We just landed, we'll be at the hospital in an hour." His mother replied, seeming to think that speaking quickly would make her ride to the hospital faster.

"Okay." Hikaru sighed, looking to his half-awake brother. "He's waking up, I need to go." Hikaru hung up before his mother could protest, and switched his phone to silent before she could call him again. "Hey, how're you feeling?"

Kaoru took a moment to fully come to, and when he did he snuggled closer to Hikaru, burying his head in his brother's neck, whimpering softly.

"It's okay." Hikaru hugged Kaoru close, stroking his tangled hair. "You're safe. The only other person here is Kyoya."

"Mikami?" Kaoru asked quietly once he was able to pull his face out of Hikaru's shoulder. "Is he…?"

"He's okay." Kyoya spoke up. "We're very grateful to him."

"He won't be arrested?"

"Of course not." Kyoya assured. "He told me his story, he's done nothing wrong. He's visiting with his mother right now."

"Good." Kaoru relaxed slightly, snuggling deeper into Hikaru's chest.

"How are you feeling?" Hikaru voiced again, not having gotten a response the first time he'd asked his brother the question.

"Alright." Kaoru lied. He didn't need Kyoya worrying about him, and he knew Hikaru would feel right through his false tone. He always did. In truth, he was a wreck. The only thing that was keeping him from having a complete mental breakdown was his brother's soothing presence. Nothing would happen while Kaoru was wrapped in Hikaru's arms.

"That's good." Hikaru played along. "Do you need anything?"

"Water?" Kaoru whispered, suddenly noticing how dry his throat was.

"Kyoya?" Hikaru looked up at his friend. "Would you mind?"

"Of course." Kyoya rose and left the room, sending a nod in the twins' direction before the door closed.

"I promise, Kaoru." Hikaru hugged his brother tightly as soon as Kyoya was gone from sight. "You are safe. I'm not going to let anyone else hurt you ever again."

"I'm scared." Kaoru admitted, feeling tears well up behind his eyes again.

"I know." Hikaru felt tears of his own threatening to fall at how vulnerable and broken his brother sounded. "We'll get through this. We will."

"How can you know?"

"Because I know you. I know _us_. And I'll be here for you, every step of the way."


	17. Chapter 17

"Kaoru!" Mrs. Hitachiin shouted as she burst through the door. "What happened to you? You're not too hurt, are you? Who would dare do this to my baby?!"

Koru whimpered and buried his head in Hikaru's shoulder, trembling harder than the last remaining petal on a cherry blossom tree.

"What's the matter?" She couldn't seem to keep her volume below a shout as tears sprung to her eyes. How could her son be cowering in fear? She expected him to leap into her arms for comfort. Well... maybe not leap… they weren't the closest family… either way he should have been seeking comfort in her, not hiding from her.

"Out!" Hikaru snapped. He too was furious with his parents. "Get out!"

"Hikaru, is that any way to talk to your-" Mr. Hitachiin began but was interrupted by the quick-thinking Kyoya.

"Mr. and Mrs. Hitachiin, if you'll come with me, I'd be happy to explain the situation to you." He somehow managed to herd the flustered couple out the door, beckoning for Mikami to follow.

"What is wrong with my sons?!" Mrs. Hitachiin demanded. "And who are you?!" She turned to Mikami.

"This is Mikami Yano, the man who helped us rescue Kaoru." Kyoya explained. You have him to thank for your sons' lives."

"I really didn't do much…" Mikami blushed, unsure of what Kyoya's plan was.

"Don't be humble!" Kyoya placed a hand on Mikami's shoulder. "This man gave the police the information they needed to take the system down."

"Well thank you, Mikami." Mr. Hitachiin extended his arm for a handshake. "We owe you a lot for returning Kaoru to us."

"It was no trouble."

"I find that hard to believe!" Mrs. Hitachiin still didn't seem to remember what an 'inside voice' was. "Are you a detective?"

"No," Kyoya shook his head, "he was being forced to work for the people who were holding Kaoru. His incentive for staying with them was the fact that he was being paid well enough to care for his ill mother and the threat of the boss killing him if he tried to leave."

Mr. and Mrs. Hitachiin silenced themselves, taking in the information Kyoya had just spewed at them as if he was listing the specials at a cheap restaurant.

"So I've brought him along to explain to you why Kaoru and Hikaru are acting the way they are." Kyoya finished. "He was inside, so he knows everything there is to know about that place."

"Is this true?" Mr. Hitachiin practically squeaked.

"Yes." Mikami hung his head. "I worked there."

"You said your mother is ill?"

"Very. The treatments are expensive, it was the only way I could pay for them."

"Enlighten me, why is our son so afraid of us?"

Kyoya slipped back into the room while Mikami sorted his thoughts and began his explanation. Kaoru and Hikaru were wound tightly together, but no longer cowering in fear or looking furious.

"Is everything okay in here?" Kyoya asked after a moment, seeing the twins hadn't noticed him.

"They're not coming back, are they?" Kaoru was no longer physically trembling, but his voice shook all the same.

"Mikami is explaining to them what happened to you, and then he will explain it to you."

"I know what happened." Kaoru's breath sped up slightly, along with his pulse. "I was there."

"But Mikami knows the whole truth." Kyoya kept his tone soft, hoping not to startle Kaoru too much. "You only saw what they wanted you to see."

Kaoru didn't respond, only tightened his grip on the fistfuls of Hikaru's shirt he held.

"You're going to have to face them sometime."


	18. Chapter 18

Kaoru was discharged from the hospital later that evening. The twins kept their distance from their parents, attached at the hip once again. Their mother tried countless times to communicate, but each time she said anything, Kaoru burrowed into Hikaru's neck and Hikaru sent a death glare in the direction of her voice. Mikami had explained to Kaoru what had happened, but the explanation hadn't done anything to patch the relationship. Hikaru was still furious that his parents had ignored him for so long.

The ride home was silent and awkward, with Hikaru and Kaoru snuggled together next to Kyoya on one side of the limo and their parents sitting across from them, holding hands.

"Kaoru…" Their father sighed when they were nearly back to their home city. It was the first time anyone had spoken since they'd left the hospital.

"What." Hikaru snapped as Kaoru tensed in his arms.

Mr. Hitachiin ignored Hikaru and continued to address his other son. "I just wanted to tell you that we're going to pay for Mikami's mother's medical treatments as thanks for helping you."

Kaoru relaxed slightly, a trickle of happiness flowing through the twins. They were hoping their parents would come to that conclusion on their own.

The conversation dropped there.

Kyoya was let out first, with a nod and a promise to call and check up on the twins. Without his peace-keeping nature, the tension increased until a chainsaw wouldn't have been able to hack through it. As soon as the vehicle stopped, the twins were on their way to their bedroom, on the opposite side of the estate as their parents'.

"Spill." Hikaru demanded as soon as they were laying comfortably together on his bed.

"I don't want to." Kaoru shook his head, finding it difficult to build up enough energy to cry.

"I don't care." Hikaru turned to look at his expressionless brother, who continued to stare at the ceiling. "You know you have to. It'll be the only way you'll feel better."

"I know…" Kaoru faced his brother, locking his dull eyes with Hikaru's concerned ones. "I'm just not ready yet…"

"Okay." Hikaru grabbed his brother's hand and rubbed gentle circles into the back of it with his thumb while they went back to staring at the ceiling. They lay there in silence, feeling content until they fell asleep.

Waking was not pleasant.

Hikaru jolted awake before Kaoru did, a sure sign of a nightmare on Kaoru's end. He looked over to see Kaoru stirring, eyes screwed shut, whimpering quietly.

"Kaoru." Hikaru whispered, reaching over to stroke Kaoru's hair.

At the gentle touch, Kaoru's eyes flew open. Instinct kicked in and he smacked the hand away, breaths coming in short, sharp bursts that made his chest ache and his back sting.

"Hey, it's okay." A voice said from fifty miles away. Kaoru turned to see a shadow looming over him, reaching for him. He screamed, limbs flailing. He felt his foot colliding with something solid, and soon after, he cried out in pain and fear as he hit the ground, fire in his side.

Hikaru cringed as Kaoru's foot hit him in the sternum and sent him tumbling over the edge of the bed. He heard Kaoru cry out and a solid thud on the other side of the bed.

"Kaoru!" he cried, quickly making his way to the other side of the room. He found his brother curled up in the corner, shaking, sobbing, hyperventilating. "Kaoru, breathe." Hikaru had never seen his brother in such distress. He usually calmed down as soon as Hikaru started talking to him. "C'mon, in through your nose and out through your mouth."

Kaoru didn't hear a word his brother said. He was lost in his mind, his memories. Every hand, every strike, every cut, every word. They all came back. He felt the sting of his brands, the pressure of every sick bastard that had climbed on top of him, their breath, their hands, everything they'd done. He felt the helplessness, the vulnerability, the pain, the suffering the shame. Oh the shame.

But then he remembered something else. He remembered how he'd gotten through it. He forced his panic aside; it was as if he was elbowing through an overly crowded room, going against traffic during an evacuation. He somehow found his way to the back of his mind and pulled out his safe haven. He plastered it in every inch of his mind. The only thoughts he allowed were of sunsets, peace, and Hikaru.

Gradually, he felt himself relax. Then a voice started to poke at the edge of his mind. Someone was coaching him through breathing. Was he not breathing? Kaoru put his focus into his lungs and realised that he was, in fact, hyperventilating. He listened to the instructions, following them the best he could. He couldn't pinpoint the exact moment when he'd realised it was Hikaru trying to help him, but when he finally figured out how to control his diaphragm, Kaoru suddenly found himself in Hikaru's arms.

"Shh… It's okay." Hikaru whispered as Kaoru began to sob again. "You're safe now. They can't hurt you anymore."

Kaoru just latched onto his brother, sobbing and shaking.

"S-so many." He found himself choking out after he had mostly cried himself out. "So many p-people."

"Shh…" Hikaru gently rocked his brother back and forth. "You don't need to talk about it now."

"I'm ready n-now." Kaoru protested. He didn't know if or when he would be ready again. "Every d-day, a new o-o-one."

Hikaru bit his lip and held back tears as he thought of Kaoru going through such a horrible thing. And multiple times. Why? Why did it have to be him?

"Sh-show me your l-legs." Kaoru untangled himself from Hikaru, wiping the stray tears form his face as he tried to keep fresh ones from falling.

"Why?" Hikaru's expression suddenly turned dark.

"Bec-cause."

"Show me your back."

Kaoru shook his head.

"Why not?"

"Y-yours are for-or both of us." Kaoru failed his attempt to keep his tears behind his eyes. "Mine a-are just for m-me. You didn't d-do anyth-thing to get the-ese."

"Together or not at all." Hikaru made his offer final.

Kaoru took a few deep breaths, rattling his sore chest. Once he felt a bit less jittery, he nodded.

"On three?" Hikaru suggested.

"One." Kaoru reached for the bottom of his shirt.

"Two." Hikaru grabbed the hems of his jeans.

"Three." They revealed their scars at the same time, Kaoru turning his back to Hikaru while Hikaru stretched his legs out around Kaoru. All of their scars were in plain view. Hikaru's breath caught at the giant X and disgusting words that had been carved into Kaoru's skin. Kaoru simply stared at the litter of marks on Hikaru's legs.

Their silence was well spent, each finding a strange sense of peace in knowing everything that had happened while they were apart.

"Kaoru…" Hikaru sighed, not feeling the need to continue.

"Hikaru…" Kaoru agreed.


	19. Chapter 19

"What do you feel like doing today?" Hikaru asked as the pair laid on his bed, staring at the ceiling, hours after they'd woken up. They were calm, holding hands, just existing together. Their presence created a mutual assurance that things would be okay.

"I don't know…" Kaoru turned to face his brother, who heard the rustle and also let his head flop over. "Not much of anything."

Hikaru could feel the weight in his chest. Kaoru's chest. He could also feel the fatigue and lack of motivation. He wasn't himself. Neither of them were.

"Do you think you're ready to talk to mom and dad?" Hikaru squeezed Kaoru's hand reassuringly. Their parents had actually figured out how to stay home for more than a day, and had promised to stay until the twins could face them. Forgive them. Hikaru found himself thinking that it would be a very long time until their parents left the city again. If they were to keep their promise.

"No." Kaoru snapped back quickly. "I don't know if I'll ever be able to forgive them..."

"Okay, what about the club?"

"No, too much chaos."

"So… just lay here?"

"Just lay here."

And lay there they did. It was probably the best thing either of them could have done after the weeks they'd had. They could finally relax without nightmares, pain, or fear. They were together, and would be inseparable for a long time. That fact made them happier than they'd ever been before.

But still, there was a nagging feeling. A persistent edge more prominent in Kaoru, but Hikaru could undoubtedly feel it. It was a tiny voice, poking, prodding, whispering that the twins would never be the same, that they were broken and screwed up beyond repair. And there was a tiny bit of the twins that believed the voice. After all, how could they expect to move on from such trauma? One had been kidnapped practically out of the other's arms. They'd felt the same pain, one not knowing the details, the other knowing too many. They'd both seen the prison, for far too long. They could already tell they would be plagued with nightmares, panic attacks, and anxiety for the rest of their lives. Or at least into the distant future.

The next day held the same riveting activities for the twins. And the next. And the next.

It wasn't until late afternoon of the fourth day of lying in bed-aside from using the bathroom or eating-that Hikaru decided they needed a change of scenery.

"Come on." He practically dragged Kaoru out of bed and toward the door to their room.

"Where are we going? "Kaoru protested, holding his brother's hand tighter.

"You'll see."

Hikaru lead Kaoru out the back door of their estate, clinging to Kaoru almost as tightly as Kaoru was to him. They wandered through the back garden, which seemed to go on forever after Kaoru had spent so much time locked up in a six by six foot cell. The plants and trees were beautiful, but Kaoru found it difficult to relax outside of the safe walls of his home. He found himself shaking, trying not to think back to that night, when he and Hikaru had been torn apart. His escape edged at his thoughts, trying to come forward, but Kaoru didn't want to rely on that anymore. He would have to learn to deal with his emotions now that he was safe. He was safe. A phrase he still didn't quite believe.

"Seriously, Hikaru. Where are we going?"

"You'll see." He repeated, with a smirk this time. "It's a surprise."

They walked until they reached a river, one Kaoru had long forgotten about. The land of their estate was so expansive, he wasn't sure he and Hikaru had explored it all.

"Why…?" Kaoru trailed off.

"Because." Hikaru sat down on a nearby bench and Kaoru snuggled up next to him. They existed in peace, watching the clouds roll by. Clouds… Kaoru checked his phone for the time.

"Hikaru…"

"It's finally cloudy." He smiled, seeing the look on his brother's face. Kaoru rested his head on Hikaru's shoulder, calm rushing through him like the river at their feet. He watched, in awe, as the sunset began, transforming the sky into an artwork of pink, orange, purple, red, any colour you could ever want to see. Kaoru nestled his head into his brother's neck, and Hikaru pulled him closer.

In that moment, they knew that someday, they would be okay.

 **I know the ending is kind of abrupt, but my mind is elsewhere at the moment.**

 **Thank you to everyone who read, reviewed, followed, and favourited.**

 **If you're into Yuri On Ice, I have another story currently in the works, so check that out.**

 **If you want to see any more Ouran stories, or stories from other anime, PM me or leave me a review and I'll see what I can do.**

 **Happy reading.**

 **~Ace**


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